PARROT JUNGLE AND GARDENS
Just recently moved into a brand new $46 million home on Watson Island, along the MacArthur Causeway near Miami Beach the Parrot Jungle and Gardens is one of the quirkiest places you can visit in Miami. The 18.6-acre park features an Everglades exhibit, a petting zoo, and several theatres, jungle trails, and aviaries. Watch your heads because flying above are hundreds of parrots, macaws, peacocks, cockatoos, and flamingos. Continuous shows star roller-skating cockatoos, card-playing macaws, and numerous stunt-happy parrots. There are also tortoises, iguanas, and a rare albino alligator on exhibit. Opened in 1936 by Austrian-born Franz Scherr, the Parrot Jungle was originally an attempt for Mr. Scherr to share his love of nature with the public. No one believed that the birds would stick around but soon after their arrival the original 100 Macaws were learning to call the place home. While some mourn the loss of what many argue was a more charming and kitschier reserve, the new location has a lot more to offer. If you're in the mood however, you can still check out the old headquarters. In order to ensure that future generations can enjoy the garden, the City of Miami purchased the unique garden and turned it into a public park.
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